GENERAL MISCELLANY.. The Convention of the Irish National! League is now sitting in Boston. 410 delegates are present. The Convention has passed resolutions promising- to> support Mr. C. S. Parnell's Irish policy. Arrangements aro being made for the departure of Alfred Shaw's English cricketing team for Australia.. The team will sail in the Orient Co's. R.M.S.. Garonne on September 17. News has. been received of the discovery of a conspiracy» having, for ita object thc disposition of General-Manuel Gonzales, President of the Republic of of Mexico. Two generals who were implicated in the affair, have been shot. News lias been received that Dr.. Nachtigal, the explorer, who some- time ago was commissioned by the German Goverment to proceed to Angra, Pequeña, has arrived at the Bight of Biarra, on the west coast of Africa, on; board the gunboat Moewe.-. Dr... Nachtigal landed at Camaroon, one of the coaling stations of thc African. Steamship Company, and also.proccedcd to Bimba in t...

Woman Items. A woman can keep only one secret-the. secret of her age. Women make good yeast when their ¡ homes are a little (l)heaven. Falcon-street, Melbourne, is populated by lawyers-a rnE-nominal fact. A lady who forgets to return a book may be bad at figures, but she is good at bookkeeping. " You like telling fibs, I think, Emily." "Ah, yes, grandmama, and I do like to see yon swallow them." In one of the English mining townships, a girl has been born with two tongues. Providence however, has made her dumb. And she remarked-"Be careful to put the red rose on the left side of my hat. I set with the other side to the wall in our church." "Yes, mother; Mr. Crisscross ; is very awful bashful : but he's offering himself piecemeal. He asked me to take his arm last night." In Nèw York, recently, a woman paralysed on the left side was married to a man paralysed on the right. They are third cousins and about 52 years of age. " I walked alone when I was six months old," said an old maid i...

Scientific. Dynamite, enclosed in india-rubber balls, is now salely fired from cannon. General Hardinge has continued the trials at Poona with the Nordenfeldt 10-barrel gun. A target was laid flat on the ground to represent a body of men lying down. The range was 1700 yards, the'target was 150 feet long by 50 feet wide. Nothing was seen of it from the firing point ; never- theless 293 shots hit it oat of 300 fired. That is scoring with a vengeance. À naturalist writing recently to the London Press explains the ingenious method adopted by the cassowary to obtain food. It walks into the river three feet deep, partially squats down, and spreading and submerging its wings, remains perfectly motionless. Hosts of fish thinking the feathers a description of weed rush in ; then, sud- denly, the bird closes its wings and returns to the bank. Soon the fish are allowed to drop out only to be devoured. A most remarkable case of human suffer- ing, and one which has steadily baffled medical scien...

THE WEEIC8 EVENTS. The two men under sentence of death at Tam- worth for thc Quirindi assault case, have been granted a reprieve-five years' gaol in lieu of exe- cution. This merciful consideration of their case may be justified on the evidence obtained by the Commissioner appointed by the Government to in- quire into the whole circumstances. But the prosecutrix is arrested for perjury. The two things don't appear to agree. Either the men are innocent and the girl is a perjurer ; or they are guilty, and the girl should be free. However, the Stuart Ministry are the whalebone party in colonial politics, and perhaps we will have an " explanation." One hundred and twenty-seven years was the total age of two giddy persons who appeared in a breach of promise case at the Sydney Supreme Court a few days ago. Kent v. Williams was a case in which the plaintiff, a marital-struck beauty of 63, sought to obtain £1000 damages from a still more gay Lothario of Gi. It appears that the "oldman" got ...

TOPICS OF THE DAY. Earl Derby appears to be giving the Vic- torian Premier a good deal of chaff. After expressing himself impressed with the "overwhelming importance" of the fede- ration scheme as proposed by Mr. Service, the Secretary of State for the Colonies now informs ns that he hesitates to intro- duce a Federal Council Bill to the House of Commons till the colonial legislatures have taken some definite practical action in the matter. As this latter result abides in the remotest future, the probability of Imperial action, is indeed small. It would really seem as if Earl Derby were fooling the Aus- tralian " statesman." It strikes us Mr. Ser- vice will haye still to confine his attentions, to his own cabbage garden for some time to come. A surprising piece of hews has been cabled from Europe during the week, , an- nouncing the triumph of the- clerical party and complete defeat of the Liberals in the Belgian élections. It must be regarded, however, as only a temporary reverse fo...

The Eastern Produce Market. MESSES. B0BEBT HABFEE &amp; CO.'S BUSINESS. THSBE is one house in Sydney to which the whole Bale merchant, store, and shopkeepers may go in the full cer. tainty of being liberally and farly dealt with in the matter of Eastern Produce. And that this is a matter of concern is proved by the too frequent distribution of inferior and adulterated food which is carried on under the heading Eastern Produce, last year the Customs authorities at New York, cast out into refuse heaps, 283 tons of so-called tea; and in London, at Mel bourne, Sydney, and Brisbane the detection of adulterated shipments has been in proportion. But the adulteration is by no means confined to tea. The process of deceptive manufacture is carried on with coffee, rice, rynnrr nr* jngaj^fcc. Two moatlw ¿BU, a laming London scientist informed the world that nearly two-thirds of the pepper sold in Europe, as imported from the East, was not pepper at all. These facts being so, it ÍB a matter ...

Personal. - The Anny surgeon who successfully cut 'the ballet oat of Baker Pasha's cheek, is dead. Mr. William Sing, a.London picture dealer, has made the noble gift of £100,000 to St. George's Hospital, London. Midhat Pasha is mentioned as Governor General of Egypt. It will, doubtless, get into the papers as Mudhead Pasha-and yet be no mistake. Prince Bismarck says he will never for- get the occurrence of his being once severely repri- manded in the streets of Edinburgh for whistling on the Sunday. The Duke of Manchester is again in Australia, presumedly for the furthering of a mammouth pastoral investment in North Queens- land, which he regards as the wealthiest portion of Australia. Mr. Dickson, the Colonial Treasurer of Queensland, gives the proverbial advice about being honest. With regard to black labour, he says that the country will have niggers if they can be got honestly-if they can't, then they'll get them. In 1872, a wealthy Irish lady, a Mrs. Blake made her will, leavin...

. Political. A new Ministry formed in South Aus- tralia, with Mr. Coulton as Chief Secretary. From 1881 to 1841, the Duke of Buc- cleuch spent £53,000 in conservative electoral cam- paigns. The New Zealand Ministry being de- feated means the restoration to power once more of Sir George Grey. The death of the Dake of Buccleuch I leaves Mr. Gladstone the last survivor of Sir Bobe rt I Feel's Cabinet. Although their paths in politics 1 had strayed wide asunder, they always remained on I most friendly terms. ; There was a majority of 120 in the House of Commons against extending the franchise to j women. Mr. Gladstone said if the proposal were carried he would not be responsible for the future ' of the Franchise Bill. Several provincial sheep boards have notified their opinion that the Stock Department of Kew South Wales Government is wholly incapable of devising means for the prevention of the spread of scab in sheep and other diseases affecting the stock of the colony. . The Governor'...

A Sydney Stepmother. CRUELTY-IMMOEAilTY-PEEJUKY, AND HOT JUDGMENT. Perhaps the severest and straitest judgment ever delivered from a Bench was that which came ! from the Supreme Court, Sydney, in the matter of the estate of poor old Collins, the homoepathic I chemist of that city. It was a suit brought by the children of Collins against his eecond wife, who had applied for power to administer his estate, and the èvldénoo revealed shocking immorality, cruelty, and perjury. It appears that in 1872 Collins married a Miss Bebecca Fletcher, by whom he had seven children, and these are still living. Mrs. Collins, who appeared to have been a good woman and a Mnd mother, died in October, 1870, and a few days afterwards Collins brought to his house one Jane M'Lean, with whom he lived in concubinage till 1881, during which period they had six illegitimate children. On the 9th March, 1881, they were mar- ried. Last January Collins died, and in the certifi- cate of death Mrs. Collins, in mentio...

Messrs. Shepherd and Co.'s Nur- sery and Seed Warehouse. Eesidents in all ports of the interior districts should note that Shepherd and Co., the well-known nursery- men and seed merchants of Sydney, have made spécial arrangements for the supply of fruit trees and seeds for farm and garden on the some terms, and with equal despatch, as if thc orders were executed for the metropolis. This is a moBt important essential, which farmers and nurserymen in all parts of the country districts should avail themselves of. Messrs. Shepherd and Co. have a business unsurpassed by that of any other house in the colonies; and, as maybe judged from their lengthy connection with the press, there is probably no ' firm in the colonies more intimately acquainted with the , soil and climate of every district in the country, or more competent to speak as to the requirements of those dis- tricts. The firm lay claim to having the largest and best assorted stock of farm and garden and grazing seeds in the col...

Paling's Great Music Warehouse in Sydney. There is no more legitimate announcement than that of the Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney press, that the music warehouse of W. H. Poling and Co. (Limited) is the finest and most extensive business house of the kind in Aus- tralia. It is situated in the very centre of the great free trade metropolis, opposite the Bank of N. S..W., and within a few yards of the Sydney Post Office. The ware- house has a splendid frontage to George-street, with elegant and spacious windows for show purposes, the effect being the art attraction of the fashionable rendez- vous of Sydney. There is fully a depth of 150 feet from the front entrance, and money has not been spared to pro- duce a moBt artistic effect, and at the same time supply increased and improved facilities for business. In the front portion of the establishment is the department for music, and here at hand for immediate inspection and purchase, is certainly the largest and moBt varied stock of mu...

A Cheap &amp; Practical Invention ' in Stoves. There are probably thousands of people shivering from - , - i cold in rooms or offices, who may now with the expendí» ture of a few shillings secure comfort and health. One thing which has struck thoughtful people baa been the non-appearance from the inventor's shop of a heating appliance which could he utilized with oil. This latter ingredient is procurable anywhere, while coal and gas is only within the reach of a few. Now at last, how* ever, we have a thoroughly practical invention in the Fairy Queen Oil Stove, and the Australian public are indebted for it to the enterprise of Messrs. Hebblewhite and Co., 416, George-street, Sydney. This firm has been noted for the last fifteen years for the introduction of the moat useful practical household appliances, and their bus", ness connection extends to almost every town and district in the two colonies. The Fairy Queen Oil Stove, which is Messrs. Hebblewhite and Co.'s latest importatio...

Fry's Great Cocoa "Works.-New Branch in Sydney. j One ot the principal English raanufactaring firms, Messrs. J. H. Fry and Sons, fitly described in the European and American Pre BS, OS the Cocoa kings of the world, have established a large central house of business in Bond» street, Sydney, for the' purpose of folly meeting the great demands of the Australian trade. There hare been few greater benefactors of the time than those who perfected the manufacture of Cocoa, as medical science ascribes to it wonderful powers in restoring the shattered physical and mental energies of man. And certainly, foremost among the people who have been perfecting this most beneficial article of haman consumption is the firm of Fry and Son, the celebrated manufacturers of Bristol and London. For the last fifteen or twenty years, the firm have been exporting largely to the colonies, but as is the case with other lines of business, the firm find it impos- sible to adequately meet colonial requirements wit...

FRENCH MURDERER GUILLOTINED. Michael Campi, who was sentenced to death at the last Seine Assizes for the mur- der of M. Dutros de Sixt, a retired barrister, who lived with his aged sister in an isolated house in the Bue de Begard, was executed in Paris recently, on the Place de la Ho- quette. It will be recollected that when he was arrested he confessed his guilt, and stated that plunder was his object. It was not till the afternoon prior to the execution that the prison authorities received notice that the law was to take its course, and orders were issued to prepare for the exe- cution on Wednesday morning. The order became known, and from midnight crowds pressed from all parts of Paris to the scene of execution. At two o'clock the metro- politan police and troops took possession oi the ground, and barred entrance from the surrounding streets. Admission to the place itself was confined to the agents of che law and the representatives of the Press. Though unable to see from the str...

FENIAN DUEL IN FRANCE. Early on May 3rd there was a duel with swords in the Bois de Boulogne. One of the parties was Mr. Joseph Casey, a Fenian, who was arrested, with Colonel Bichará Burke, in 1867, and confined within Clerken well Prison, the explosion there being de- signed to free them. He went to France immediately on his release, and served in the Foreign Legion during the Franco Prussian War. The other combatant was a Captain Scully, an Irish-American, who fought in the War of Secession and also in Mexico. He was suspected of being an in- former ; hence the duel. After several passes Captain Scully's sword broke, and Casey wounded him in the neck, but not seriously. A reconciliation was effected, and the parties afterwards breakfasted together.

MISCELLANEOUS. Investigation into tbe Cracow dynamite explosion shows that Austrian Socialists and Eussian Nihilists are operating in unison. The Poles, of course, are " in it." At the Killarney Petty Sessions,, May 1, Mr. Geoffrey O'Donoghue, son of The O'Donoghue, M.P., was committed for trial, in conjunction with Michael Tanquey, for having, on the 21st ultimo, stabbed with a dagger a house-painter and shopkeeper named John Duckett. The assault was committed during a squabble on political and private matters. A Dublin correspondent writes : " An action by a young lady of twenty-one, who who has been a ward of Chancery, with an income of £300 a year, has been commenced against an octogenarian Irish county court judge for breach of promise of marriage, the damages being laid at £8000.*' A singular case of drowning has occurred at Hatton, a Licolnshire village. Two children of a labourer named Glorke were playing in the garden whenit is supposed they gave chase to a hen andarán it i...

CHARGE OF WIFE MURDER. At Sutton, England, May 2, a German, named Cauril Gruishber, aged forty-seven years, a journeyman baker, was placed in in the dock, charged with wilfully murder- ing his wife Elizabeth Charlotte Gruishber, aged thirty-seven years, under circum- stances of great barbarity. William Henry Ryson, relieving officer, stated that from information he received he visited the honse occupied by the prisoner on the 20th April last, and found the deceased and her two children in a shocking state from neglect and want of food. Dr. William Campbell, the resident medical officer of the Sutton Infirmary, stated that when the deceased and the two children were admitted into the institution they were in a shocking neglected condition from want of food, and had scarcely a vestige of clothing on their bodies. The children were in a starving condition, and when supplied with Savory and Moore's nursery food they devoured it in such a ravenous manner that it was evident they had been...